


Into the Sea

by pizzahut



Category: Blur
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen, M/M, Mermaids, aquamarine au???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-08
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-08 05:36:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4292733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pizzahut/pseuds/pizzahut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>“You’re gonna have to get over it eventually, Graham,” Damon suddenly piped up, and Graham looked at him to find him shooting him a lazy smile.</i><br/><i>“Over what?”</i><br/><i>“The fact that I’ve got legs.”</i><br/>teenaged merman!damon au (blurmaids? lol)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ok so this fic is just a silly thing i wanted to do for fun, everything's a bit (very) ambiguous at this stage but i hope it makes sense!  
> secondly, obvious disclaimer: I don't own Blur, none of this is real (way!), I don't claim to know the members etc etc etc  
> k ty i hope this is somewhat entertaining apologies for my sketchy geographical knowledge

**Prologue**

Damon cackled, blue eyes sparkling in the sun as he rolled over on to his back and landed on the grass with a soft thud. The stream he and Graham were relaxing next to bubbled past, and birds made cooing noises as they flitted overhead and into trees. Graham’s lips twitched in a tiny smirk as he watched Damon’s laughter die down from where he was lying on the ground next to him, and he sighed happily. The sun was hanging midway in the sky, drenching their skin in light, Graham’s looking brilliantly white in contrast to Damon’s, who was suddenly looking bronzed and glowing in comparison.

“Not long now until we’ll have to think about getting you back to your hiding place,” Graham noted, feeling utterly relaxed with the blond boy by his side. Of course, that might have been the effect of the wine he and Damon had been sharing all afternoon - a plan that he still wasn’t quite sure had been ethically the correct thing to do, being unsure of what Damon could and couldn’t handle as a...half-fish person - but he felt very much at ease, reclining in the sun.

“Oh, don’t,” Damon moaned in response, draping one arm over his eyes. “We’ve got a little bit of time.” His voice was sleepy, pleasant. Graham quite liked the change; he was used to Damon shouting and bounding around, used to him being stubborn and mischievous. If you could be used to someone after only knowing them for a few days. Graham frowned a little as he remembered that Damon would only really be around for a few more days, and wondered how long they had left exactly, even though it had been discussed on numerous occasions.

“How many days until…?”

“Ohhhh, I don’t know,” Damon replied, pulling a petulant expression, reluctant to talk about it. “I don’t care. I just wanna stay here with you.” His grumbled words sort of mashed together as he spoke, and his cheeks were a little flushed. Graham was reminded of peaches, all gold and yellow and pink, and smiled a little at the thought, as well as at Damon’s somewhat childish admission. He realised, then, that he didn’t quite know what to say to it, so he just lay in blissful silence.

His mind began to wander. He took a sweeping look at Damon’s recumbent body, eyes lingering briefly on his legs, still marvelling at the fact he wasn’t just a normal person even after all the chaos they’d been through. He wanted to stay with Damon, too.

“You’re gonna have to get over it eventually, Graham,” Damon suddenly piped up, and Graham looked at him to find him shooting him a lazy smile.

“Over what?”

“The fact that I’ve got legs.”

Graham snorted. “It’s more the fact that you don’t usually...you usually don’t have them that’s, er...I still can't really imagine you without them...”

Damon rolled his eyes fondly and smiled properly, propping himself up on one arm. His gaze was suddenly cutting right through Graham in that knowing way he had, and Graham swallowed.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about.”

**_~Several days earlier~_ **

Graham was thankful that it was finally the evening. It had been absolutely roasting earlier in the day, but now the sun was going down a cool breeze had picked up, and he closed his eyes briefly, letting it pass over him as he listened to the river bubble past. Looking around now, he wasn’t sure how far him, Dave and Alex had gone out past their usual haunts - they’d gone out early in the morning just to hang out and had wound up in a field on the other side of town - but he was happy to just be sitting out on the riverbank for now, away from all the usual hometown noise. Anyway, when they left, all they’d have to do would be to walk alongside the river until it eventually dried up into nothing, and then they’d be back in proper suburbia, so he didn’t feel lost or worried. The sound of the wind and the water was oddly soothing.

Alex sucked on his cigarette, looking wistfully into the darkening sky from where he sat next to Graham. “I think you can see Venus just over there. Look.” He pointed with the burning nub.

Dave pretended to look towards the sky too. “Nah, it’s just a helicopter.” Graham squinted skywards himself as he looked up, and then caught Dave’s eye, who was chuckling to himself as Alex outright ignored his jibe.

“You know, it’s funny, isn’t it, finishing up with A-levels just like that,” Alex continued. “Makes you wonder what’s going to happen next.”

“Nothing,” Graham said. “Lots of...crap. And then uni, if we make it.”

“I still think we should start a band,” Alex said, stubbing out his cigarette. Dave and Graham groaned.

“Look, we’d have no direction, none of us are even halfway capable of getting ourselves organised enough to do it properly, we’ve been through all this,” Graham said wearily, “and besides - you only want to do it to get famous and shag supermodels.”

“Yeah. What’s wrong with that?”

The playful bickering continued, their laughter ringing out into the evening, only interrupted when Alex suddenly raised a finger and told everyone to be quiet.

“Sh, sh!”

“What?”

“Can you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Graham asked, sitting up properly to try to listen out.

“That bubbling noise,” he said, looking around him and then out on to the water.

Dave raised an eyebrow. “Yes, that would be the river, Alex.”

“No, no, it’s too loud,” Alex insisted, shuffling over to lean over the river and take a look.

“Careful, Alex.”

Alex ignored Dave’s jokey warning. “See, look, there! Look at those bubbles!" He pointed more clearly at the water, and sure enough, a series of bubbles was issuing at the surface, almost as if something was about to come up for air - or was drowning. They were gradually moving upstream, it seemed, but it was hard to tell.

Graham frowned. "What do you suppose is..?"

"Dunno," Alex replied, sounding wary. He crouched down by the water's edge to get a better look, and the others followed suit. "Look, there's all these big ripples too. Do you reckon someone's down there?"

"I bloody hope not," Graham said, grimacing, feeling a little scared all of a sudden. "What are we gonna do if there is?"

Alex looked tentative for a moment, then gingerly put a hand in the water as if feeling around for the source of the bubbles.

"Alex!" Graham hissed.

"I'm just..." Alex started, putting his hand a little deeper. There was a pause, and Graham would rather die than admit that he felt some tension rising, it was Alex for God’s sake - then Alex let out a shocked yell and sprang backwards, crashing into Graham and Dave and knocking them clean over. Graham was about to ask what had happened, but then he noticed Alex was laughing.

"Oh, fuck off, Alex!" Graham laughed, and Dave reached over to slap Alex on the back of the head. "What are you trying to pull here?"

The trio had started to cackle and scrap amongst themselves, when a loud splashing noise broke through their chatter, and they yelped as water from the river splattered their jeans.

"What the-!" Dave's exclamation was cut short when his eyes fell on what had caused the splash. Graham and Alex turned to look too, and Graham finished the sentence for him in a low whisper.

"...fuuuuuuck."

Gripping on to the riverbank and giggling madly, water running off his bare shoulders, was a young man, a boy even, who Graham would have probably pegged at around their age. It was hard to make out his colouring in the evening light, but he appeared to have blond-ish hair and lightly tanned skin, with a strange, handmade-looking necklace hanging around his neck, his collarbones standing out in the summer evening glow. He eventually stopped laughing and looked at them properly, revealing his eyes: two blue pools glittering under stark brows, water droplets collecting in his eyelashes.

“Sorry, I’m sorry, I just...I couldn’t help myself,” he admitted, shoulders still shaking with mirth, “hearing you all going on about something being in the river, I just...I had to come up and scare you.”

Alex, Dave and Graham looked at each other with concern written on their faces, none of them sure what to say to this figure who had just popped up from seemingly under the water. The boy looked at them expectantly.

“So...it was you down there?” Dave asked.

"How long have you been in there?" Alex added, crossing his arms. "You should be wrinkled like a prune."

The boy shrugged. “A little while.”

“What, listening to us talking?”

“No,” the stranger said, suddenly looking affronted, “of course not. I was just...you know, swimming along, minding my own business…” He trailed off, and looked up at them, noticing, then, their wary expressions.

“Oh, sorry! I should introduce myself, shouldn’t I?” he said cheerily, as if his neglecting to greet them had been the source of their silence, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Damon."

Alex took his hand after a moment's hesitation and shook it, and then Damon was offering his hand to the others. They all shook hands, and then the conversation ran a little dry. Damon started to fidget a little, starting to look like things hadn’t gone as planned for him.

“So you just went for a swim…” Graham repeated slowly, mainly to himself as he tried to come to terms with the information. He supposed it wasn’t the most abnormal thing in the world, but there was something bugging him about the admission. Despite his reservations about Damon, however, he felt obliged, almost, to look out for him, as if he was a slightly wayward friend of his, and so found that his only hope was to try to gain a better understanding of what Damon was doing in the first place.

Damon looked at him slyly and then he relaxed his features. "Yeah."

"In a river."

"Yeah."

"At half past nine at night."

"Yeah."

"What about swimming pools?" was the only thing Graham could think to ask, feeling even more confused than he had been before. Dave started to say something about swimming pools not being open at this time of night, but he was drowned out by Damon, who wrinkled his nose.

"Nah. Don't like the sound of them."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "You don't like the sound of them? Have you never been in one?"

"No. They put nasty things in the water."

Alex looked like he was about to speak, but then his face dropped into a deadpan scowl and he turned and shook his head at Graham in that way he did when he was trying to subtly signal disapproval (unfortunately for Alex, he wasn’t very good at being subtle, and so these looks had got him into trouble more often than not).

“Okay, fine, I know it sounds a bit weird,” Damon said after a pause, sounding a little hasty, “swimming around at this time of day. But honestly, I do this all the time. I’ve seen other people do it, too. I mean, I didn’t really mean to end up round this way, but...”

"You ‘didn’t mean to end up’ here?” Graham repeated disbelievingly. “How did you-where did you start off? You sound local.” Because Damon did sound local - his voice was a deep, definitely south-eastern drawl, though sometimes so full of expression that it nearly knocked Graham off-kilter.

Damon looked him dead in the eye. “Near my house,” he replied, and before anyone could ask for clarification on where that was, he grinned and asked, “and I’ll be honest with you, mate, I haven’t the foggiest idea how long it’ll take me to get back there.”

“Don’t you know where you are?” Alex asked, squinting, and Damon giggled a little and shook his head unabashedly.

“No. Where are we?”

"This is Essex, mate. Colchester," Dave explained, frowning. Damon frowned back, although still apparently fighting his own amusement as he racked his brains for any memory of the place. “Is that anywhere near your place?"

Damon ignored the question. "Is this the countryside?"

"Erm. Sort of?" Dave responded, starting to look a bit helpless as Damon gave a pleased nod.

There was a pause, then Dave spoke up again, asking the question that had slowly come to be on everyone’s mind.  
"Okay, look, be honest, are you on anything? We won't get you in trouble, but...you just seem a bit..." he said, licking his lips nervously and trying to sound reasonable.

"Of course I’m not." Damon scoffed, looking a little haughty.

"Be honest, though."

"I am!" he argued, crossing his arms. "I just went for a swim, wound up here and then I overheard you lot messing around and thought I’d...you know."

"Yes, ‘cause that is totally normal behaviour," Alex commented, and Damon sighed and flexed his jaw, frowning moodily.

"Okay, okay, let's just..." Graham broke in, not wishing for any conflict, "let's just get you out and find you somewhere to stay. Otherwise you'll...I dunno, get pneumonia and die, or something. Come here." He reached out for Damon's arm, but Damon shied away, suddenly looking frightened.

"No."

Graham wanted to scream. "You can't just stay in there!"

“Oh, let’s just leave him,” Dave groaned, “it’s not our problem if he decides to stay in a river all night.”

Damon nodded eagerly. “Honestly, it’s fine, I can sort myself out.” When the three of them said nothing, he looked at them slightly pleadingly. “Promise. I’ll get out of here soon. Just...leave me to it. I’m not mad or anything, I won’t stay here for too much longer.”

Graham looked at the others, feeling worried and unsure how to react. Dave looked utterly exhausted, and Alex just shook his head again. Transferring his gaze to Damon’s hopeful face and back again, Graham found that he felt slightly torn, knowing that everyone was telling him to leave Damon be, but still feeling inexplicably concerned for Damon’s wellbeing. The last time Graham looked his way, Damon flashed him a tiny, encouraging smile, and Graham quickly looked at the floor.

“Look, come on, Graham, we need to be getting home,” Dave said reasonably. “Like I said, if he wants to stay there, then…” He trailed off and yawned, eyeing Damon warily as Damon continued to smile anxiously.

“I’m with Dave,” Alex murmured, looking like he had a bad taste in his mouth.

Graham sighed. “Alright,” he finally agreed, taking a final look at Damon, who looked apologetic all of a sudden. “Alright, but I want to check up on this tomorrow. I won’t be responsible for anyone...fucking dying or anything.”

The three began the walk back home, trying to piece together what had just happened between them, all agreeing that something about it just didn’t seem right but that they weren’t sure what. Graham ended up getting home later than he’d thought, and had to suffer through a lecture from his mother, even when he told her what had happened to cause him to be out so late at night, and trudged up to his room to get away from her before he realised he was starving. He laid on his bed and suffered through the late night snack pangs with the image of the boy in the river burning into the back of his mind, and fell asleep hoping that he’d see him again, ideally in one piece.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was gnna write more for this chapter but i ran out of steam so...guess u'll have to wait, whoops :/ ty to everyone who's read this so far pmsl

"Dave? Yeah, it's Graham. Yeah, I was just wondering...are you gonna come up to the river to check on that weird guy from yesterday with me?"

Graham already felt a little stupid asking, shoving his fingers upwards through his unbrushed hair and then reaching to play with the telephone wire. His mother bustled past, tutting at him and telling him to get changed out of the clothes he'd slept in, and he half-heartedly acknowledged her as Dave replied.

"I didn't think you were really going to go today," came Dave's muffled voice down the phone. "He's probably not even there anymore. Besides, I can't come - I've got work today, haven't I?"

Graham sighed. "God, yeah, I forgot you're actually a productive member of society."

"Doing the trolleys at Tescos isn't exactly the most fulfilling job around."

"S'a job that needs doing, though," Graham replied, chewing a nail, "oh, I dunno, Dave, I'm just worried. I know that bloke isn't anything to do with us, but..."

"Have you asked Alex if he'll go?" Dave asked.

"He said no. Said he had better things to be doing, apparently," Graham snorted, and Dave chuckled.

"Gosh, yeah, I can imagine he's got plenty of other things lined up to keep him entertained." Dave paused. "Look, just be careful if you go up there today. He was a bit odd, that guy. Harmless, but..."

"Alright, mum," Graham teased, and Dave laughed back. "Okay, I'll let you get on with it. See ya!"

Graham hung up the phone and went back upstairs to get clean and pull on some clothes. He stopped to take a good, long look at himself before he left, and fidgeted in front of his mirror, a feeling of apprehension settling in his stomach. It was inexplicable, really: he wasn't particularly afraid of Damon, and he didn't even really mind having to go and look for him alone...but still, the self-consciousness remained. He was nervous; worried about what he'd do if Damon was there, but equally worried about the potential embarrassment he might have to face if he wasn't. Sighing and shaking his head, he grabbed his jacket and left before he could dwell on it for a moment longer.

The walk down to the river took longer without Dave and Alex there to entertain him. The scenery moved past and changed around him in a sort of haze, Graham feeling more disgruntled with every step he took. And the heat - the day had started off looking bright but relatively cool, but now the sun was a relentless force, beating down on him as he walked. He soon had to shed his jacket and carry it, squinting skywards for a moment and mentally cursing the summer weather. Though the jacket had been a stupid choice, really - a green, lined parka that came down to the backs of his legs wasn't exactly light outerwear, but he'd grown quite attached to it during the colder months, and it had become his go-to.

He slowed his pace as he reached the spot he thought they'd found Damon - or indeed, Damon had found them - and peered into the water, trying not to be too obvious about it in case passer-bys thought he was behaving strangely. Stopping in his tracks and looking up and downstream, he felt his shoulders slump. How was he supposed to know that this was where Damon had appeared? The river looked the same no matter where you were once you got past a certain point. It could have been anywhere!

Still, not one to give up straight away (quickly, maybe, but not straight away), Graham started to wander further up the riverbank. He started to speculate about how long he'd walk for, and how far he'd go, before he called it a day - but before he could draw any reasonable plan together, a noise got his attention.

"Psst!"

Graham frowned and took a few more paces, wondering if he was hearing things.

"Hey! You!" the voice came again, a low hiss. Graham looked all around, hoping that someone wasn't just trying to play a prank on him. He looked out across the river, back the way he came, and then his eyes eventually settled on the line of bushes and trees that ran parallel with the water from a few feet away. And then they settled on the top of someone's head, nestled in amongst them and peering at Graham, and he jumped a little before cautiously making his way over.

"Hello..?" he asked as he approached, but then instantly recognised the head as Damon's, the expressive brows and blue eyes a dead giveaway. "Oh, it is you." A pause as Damon nodded, and Graham took in the full situation. "...Why are you hiding in a bush?"

"Well, so, basically..." Damon started, looking a bit twitchy. "So you know I said-well, actually, never mind what I said, the point is...do you have any spare pants?"

Graham continued to frown, and then he understood. "Oh, God, are you naked behind there?"

"Yeah," Damon confirmed, at first sounding a little sheepish and then grinning. If anything, Graham would say he was...excited about something.  

"Um, well,  I don't have any pants, but..." Graham replied, wondering if helping Damon was actually a good idea, "you can wear my coat if you want." Oh, God, Graham should never have come back. He'd only come to check that Damon hadn't snuffed it, should've just recognised him and then left, but now here he was, confronted with an issue he was sure would only spiral into bigger ones.

"Aw, nice one!" Damon said happily, and instead of waiting for Graham to pass the coat over, he quickly got himself disentangled from the branches around him and started to walk round to get it.

"Hey, no, don't-!" Graham protested, but to no avail, because by that point, Damon was standing before him, smiling, and reaching out for the coat as if nothing was wrong. Shielding his eyes, only really glimpsing Damon's shoulders and maybe his hipbones, Graham passed Damon the parka, waiting for a zip sound. The zip sound never came.

Graham looked up tentatively. Damon was focused on the zip, holding the two parts in separate hands, tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrated but never succeeded in doing the jacket up. Graham floundered for a moment, trying not to look at the exposed parts of Damon's chest but ultimately failing. He wasn't sure why Damon seemed to transfix him like that, or why it felt like looking at him hurt his eyes, but it made him uncomfortable. Eventually, he managed to get some words out.

"Here, look - d'you need some help with that?"

Damon looked up, blinking a few times, shooting a sort of shy half-smile at Graham. "Um. Yeah. Please."

Graham got the zip in his hands, and then it dawned on him how dangerously close he was to accidentally touching Damon's penis, and he squirmed internally. Touching a stranger’s genitals might have sounded like fun to other people, but the idea had never appealed to Graham - and certainly not like this. Squinting a little to blur his vision, he connected both sides of the zip and pulled upwards as quickly as he could. A sigh of relief left him once he was done, having not come into contact with any parts of Damon, and he stepped away.

"Thanks," Damon said, and Graham could only nod.

"What happened to your clothes, then? And how long were you hiding in that bush?" Graham asked sulkily, sitting down on the grass and wondering what to do next. Damon couldn't keep his jacket, so he'd have to get clothes from somewhere before they went separate ways.

"S'cos I got lost, didn't I? I must’ve left 'em somewhere," Damon shrugged, sitting down beside him. "And I was hiding for a while, actually."

"Were you waiting for me?" Graham wondered aloud, turning to actually look at Damon. Damon shrugged again and stared at the grass.

"Well, you said you were gonna come back. I didn't wanna disappoint," he answered, his grumbled response almost eliciting a laugh from Graham. Then he looked up. "Here, I never got your name yesterday."

Damon was right, none of them had introduced themselves properly. "Oh! I'm Graham."

"Nice to meet you, Graham," Damon said, smiling, "now. When are you gonna give me a tour of...this place?"

Graham was baffled. "A tour?"

"Yeah. Seeing as I'm stuck here now, I'll need to know my way around, won't I?"

Damon's tone made the request sound all too reasonable, and Graham had to look away from his open, friendly face in order to think straight. "I only came here to check you weren't dead, you know! I didn't think I'd be doing multiple favours," Graham spluttered, adding, "anyway, why are you stuck? Can't I just get you a map and some directions back to wherever you came from?"

Damon pretended to look offended. "That's not very hospitable."

"I barely know you!" Though the little voice in Graham’s head said, _not that that has been much of an issue so far_.

"Look, it's just...things at home are a bit of a mess, right now, alright?" Damon said, fiddling with the sleeves on Graham's jacket. "So..."

Graham felt concerned, but simultaneously not very sympathetic, as Damon's vague responses were frustrating him. "I just don't know if..."

"I promise I won't be trouble for long," Damon said, looking at Graham with wide eyes. Wide eyes whose supposed innocence Graham wasn’t sure he trusted. He fixed Damon with a skeptical look, and Damon laughed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Just then, Graham and Damon were interrupted by a call of, "Ahaaaaa!"

Turning to look towards the water, Graham saw Alex approaching, bearing a smile, long legs bare save for the coverage his shorts were providing. "So you didn't die, then?" he asked Damon, and Damon kind of snorted in response.

"Clearly not. What was your name?" He seemed to be a bit more suspicious of Alex than he had been of Graham, and Graham wasn't sure what that said about either of them.

"I'm Alex," Alex replied, apparently nonplussed by Damon's reluctance, and sat down with them.

"And why are you here all of a sudden?" Graham wanted to know. "Thought you had plans."

"Ah, well," Alex said, "honestly I just couldn't be arsed to come along when you first rang."

Graham tutted. "Standard."

"Yeah, but then I woke up a bit more and I felt bad for saying no, so I decided to see if you were still up here," he finished explaining. Graham nodded, and for a moment nothing was said. Then Alex spoke up.

"Wait, are you wearing Graham's coat?" he asked Damon, then, without giving him a chance to respond, he cast a devilish look between the both of them. "What's going on here?"

Graham rolled his eyes as Damon explained. Typical Alex, trying to read something sexual into every situation.

"I lost all my clothes, so Graham loaned me his coat," Damon was saying. Alex wiggled his eyebrows.

"Ooh, are you completely starkers under there, then?" he said, and Graham saw Damon's eyes flash as if he was trying to work Alex out.

"Well, yeah," Damon replied, but smirked back all the same.

"God, you know," Alex sighed, turning to Graham, "you don't half pick up some weirdos, Graham."

"Hey!" Damon protested, but it fell on deaf ears.

Graham was equally insulted. "No I - how do I? When's the last time this happened to me?"

"Graham, you're friends with pretty much all the local nutjobs. It's why me and Dave always leave the pub early," Alex argued matter-of-factly. Graham was about to continue the debate, but Damon sprang to his feet with a huff and distracted him.

"Oh, sorry, are we boring you?" he asked Damon instead.

"Yes, to be perfectly honest. Come onnn!" was Damon's groaned reply, as he bounced around on the balls of his feet. "I wanna go somewhere else!"

Graham wasn't sure how to react to Damon's somewhat rude response, and stared at him blankly, only registering that he felt somewhat compelled to comply with Damon's wishes. Maybe if they did, he'd be out of their hair sooner - that had to be the only reason why Graham felt like obeying him, surely. He stood up and looked down at Alex.

"You coming?"

"Are you joking?"

"What?"

Alex looked a little betrayed. "Water boy here decides we're leaving and that's it, is it? We just go?"

Graham widened his eyes. "What's your problem? I'm just being nice."

"Yeah, to a crack addict."

"Don't be so dramatic," Graham scolded, as Damon voiced his own personal outrage at Alex's comment. Graham leaned into Alex.

"Come on, let's just go. We can shake him off later," he said quietly, and Alex reluctantly agreed. The three began to walk back towards the town center.

"I suppose we'd better look into getting you some clothes, really," Graham said, trying to give their journey some purpose.

"You're not having any of mine," Alex warned, but Damon ignored him, visibly excited. He was almost bouncing along the riverbank, walking normally one minute and then waving all his limbs around the next. Graham frowned to himself but decided not to question it.

"Oh! I want a suit!" Damon enthused, eyes shining. "That's what people wear, isn't it?"

"Well, sometimes," Graham grumbled, feeling increasingly worried about Damon sweating inside his jacket. "Be a bit daft in this weather though."

"Yeah, unless you happen to work in an office," Alex added.

Damon pursed his lips and nodded, accepting the information with a fair-enough shrug.

It took a little while, but eventually the group had managed to get Damon kitted out, choosing to rifle through the local charity shops to buy him a small selection of t-shirts and jeans to be getting on with. Some of the choices didn't exactly fit properly, but it was more comfortable walking alongside Damon when he was wearing jeans that didn't quite stay up around his hips than it was walking alongside Damon when he was essentially dressed like a flasher. Of course, they had all been just a bit reluctant to spend money on this stranger, but at least now he was clothed. And Graham could have his coat back.

"So, where to now, ey?" Damon asked brightly, rubbing his palms together as the three of them walked along the high street.

"Oh, well, I uh...thought this was maybe gonna be it," Graham said, nervously trying to avoid eye contact, “like...what else do you...need?” He looked to Alex for help, but Alex merely looked at his nails.

Damon pouted - like, actually, literally pouted, and Graham could barely look at him - and let out a low whine. “Awwww. But I still don’t know my way around!” When nobody responded, he sighed and tilted his head back, shoulders slumping. “Oh, come on, can’t we just hang out for a bit longer?”

At this, Alex did speak. “Don’t start with ‘we’. This isn’t a ‘we’ situation.”

Damon smiled at Alex and slung his arm around his neck, using his other hand to muss up Alex’s hair. “Ah, yeah there is! We’re all together, aren’t we?” Alex shoved him away and he laughed.

“There’s nothing else for us to do, though,” Graham supplied, looking around at their surroundings with a grimace as he walked ahead of the commotion.

“Don’t you have houses?” Damon asked nonchalantly, sidling up to Graham’s side, and again, Graham wasn’t sure if he trusted him or not, but it was all he could do to not be fixated on him. Behind them, Alex let out a loud laugh.

“Are you seriously trying to invite yourself over to one of our houses? After all this?” Alex shook his head. “That is something else.”

“Well, only if you don’t mind. I’ll go entertain myself otherwise,” he said, glancing back at Alex but then looking slowly back at Graham. Graham felt Damon’s eyes on him and tried to avoid his gaze, and was doing fine until Damon questioned him directly. “Hmm, Graham? What do you think?” His voice was suddenly quieter, softer, more coaxing, and Graham crumbled and looked at Damon to find him fixing him with an innocent but challenging stare. A smile started to form on his lips, and Graham had to almost force himself to think of a reply.

“Er-buh-well-” he started, and mentally told himself off - nice one, Graham, very eloquent - before blurting, “what time is it?”

Alex checked his watch. “Oh, bloody hell, it’s six already! When did that happen?”

“Jesus, really?” Graham responded, relieved that he got to chat to Alex even for a moment. “I thought it would’ve been earlier than that.”

“So what are we doing?” Damon demanded, sounding stroppy. Graham could’ve sworn that he’d seen him stomp his foot on the pavement.

“Nothing!” Alex cried, but Graham took a moment to think it over.

“S’pose we could always call in on Dave,” he suggested, “he’ll be back from work now and we can just...I dunno…chill out.”

Alex went ballistic at the thought. “Are you serious?!”

“Yes!” Graham answered. “What are a few more hours to us? You can go home if you want!”

Alex took a moment to glance between Damon and Graham, licking his lips in agitation, then pulled Graham to one side, leaving Damon to watch them from a few feet away. Graham instantly felt a little bad for him, but Alex forced him to pull his gaze away.

“Alright, so honestly, I came down to find you so I could look out for you if you had picked up Damon, and this-” he hissed, glancing at Damon in case he heard, “-you can’t just keep pandering to him! Otherwise you’ll never get rid of him!”

“I’m not pandering to him!” Graham hissed back. “I just wanna help him get back on track! I don’t wanna just-”

“Yeah, but how long’s that gonna take? Did he say he was even planning on sorting things out for himself?”

Graham sighed and glared. “He just said he was having problems at home.”

“And how’s that our problem?”

Graham scowled and shrugged off Alex’s grip on his arm. “Well, he’s not been much trouble so far, has he?” Alex stared at Graham sulkily, and Graham widened his eyes and raised his hands in a show of annoyance. “What?”

“Just for today, then,” Alex conceded, and Graham nodded grimly. “But don’t think I can’t see him winning you over every time. You need to stop letting people just boss you around.”

Graham returned to Damon’s side, choosing to ignore Alex’s comments, and Alex joined them, taking a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting up as they started the journey to Dave’s house. Damon watched the two others with uncertainty for a moment, looking worried, but soon the emotion dissipated from his face and he turned a crooked smile on Alex and Graham in turn.

“So...Dave’s, yeah?”

 


	3. Chapter 3

A clock was ticking. The repetitive sound cut through the silence that had been engulfing everyone since they'd arrived, and Graham squirmed in place where he was sat on Dave's bedroom floor, in a circle with the others. Him, Dave, Alex and Damon all glanced between each other, waiting for someone to speak. Needless to say, Graham hadn't imagined that popping round to see Dave would have been quite this awkward.

"So. You're back," Dave said, breaking the silence. He nodded at Damon, who looked about him for a second before replying.

"Um. Yeah..." he said, breaking eye contact as he trailed off and biting his lip. "Sorry, there was nothing else to do, we were just-"

"-Well, no, it was my idea," Graham interrupted, looking at Dave apologetically. "Sorry, you didn’t have to let us in at all."

Dave shook his head. "No, no, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it. Especially not with..." He paused and looked at Damon, who seemed to shrink a little. "No, I mean, I just didn't expect to see you again! I thought you'd be long gone!" Damon nodded back and offered a tiny smile.

"Well, if I were you, I might start getting used to it," Alex commented quietly, talking to Dave but looking at Graham with narrowed, provocative eyes. "Graham's decided Damon's his best mate."

"Oh, fuck off, Alex," Graham moaned, rolling his eyes and choosing to look at his nails.

"Hey, let's not start," Dave cut in, and Alex backed down. It fell silent again. Damon sighed loudly, tilting his head back and blowing his hair away from his eyes.

"How was your day, Dave?" Graham decided to ask, shaking his head at Damon's behaviour.

"Oh, fine, thanks. Same as ever, you know. How about you?"

"Well, you know. Fine," Graham replied, "bit unusual."

"I am here, you know," Damon said, but Graham turned to find him smiling at him, looking quietly amused. Then he straightened up and looked a bit more earnest. "Thanks, by the way. You too, Dave. I mean, it's - you've all been really nice to me." Dave nodded, and Graham looked at the floor as he mumbled, "S'alright."

Alex said nothing, even when Damon looked straight at him, but Damon didn't seem to mind.

"How long have you all known each other, then?" he asked, starting to trace patterns in the carpet.

"Oh, God, maybe about...I dunno, a few years, at least," Dave answered, looking at Graham for confirmation. Graham nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, a few years," Graham agreed, "though we've not been friends with Alex for quite as long cos he moved here from Bournemouth like...a year after we met?"

Damon nodded, pursing his lips. "Cool."

Once again, the conversation spluttered to a halt. Graham looked from Alex, who was picking at his nails, to Damon, who was fiddling with his second-hand trainers (these, too, he'd had a bit of trouble doing up, almost as if he'd never worn shoes before), and finally to Dave, whose eyes met his almost immediately after he looked his way.

"Graham," he said, "can I have a word?" And he stood up and gestured for Graham to follow him out into the hall. Graham complied, already feeling somewhat irate, and started to talk as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Look, Dave, if you're gonna tell me to be careful-"

"-No, Graham, I just-" Dave cut in, then stopped himself. "Well, okay, I do want you to be careful. But he doesn't seem that dangerous."

"Alex hates him." Graham replied, grimacing.

Dave smiled. "Alex hates anyone who has more of your attention than he does."

Graham chuckled, then Dave continued.

"Just...I don't mind this guy, for now. But don't go spending any more money on him or anything, okay? For all we know he was just waiting for someone to scrounge off of, and people like this...they'd be better off getting proper help."

Graham nodded, sighing. "Yeah, I know, it’s stupid." He paused, wondering if he should carry on, then decided to speak up. "I really don't think he's trying to scam us, though, Dave. I know he's a bit...odd, but there's just something-"

Dave squinted at him, trying to understand, but at that moment, Dave's bedroom door crashed open, and Damon flew out of the room and nearly fell at Dave’s feet.

"How long does it take to get to the river from here?"

"Excuse me?" Dave asked, frowning at Damon's frantic expression.

"Why would you wanna go back there?" Graham questioned, equally as confused and wrinkling his nose.

"Cos-cos-I just have to, alright, before-before it gets dark out, otherwise-" Damon started, then Alex appeared behind him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Oh, look, can someone just tell me how long it’d-!" Damon nigh-on growled, looking panicked, and Alex barked back an answer.

"Honestly, probably about half an hour at least, now why-"

"Shit, shit!" Damon cursed. "Sorry, guys, I've got to go." And with that, he pelted down the stairs, missing a few on the way down and nearly falling half the way, calling out a thanks to Dave's mum as he wrestled open the front door and left.

"What the-" Dave spluttered.

"But he doesn't know..." Graham said. "He doesn't know where he's going. He doesn't-" Graham barely registered his actions as he started to follow Damon out of the house.

"Graham!" Dave called, exasperated, eyebrows shooting up when Alex followed him. "Alex?! Why are you going?"

Alex shook his head grimly. "This has gone too far. I'm gonna find out what this prick's up to. You coming?"

Dave could only deliberate for a second before he found that he had no choice but to follow.

It was already surprisingly dusky when they got outside and started to sprint up the road, on the lookout for Graham and Damon as they ran. The sun hung low in the sky, nearly hidden by the rooves of houses and the tops of trees.

"What do you-what do you think he was on about?" Alex panted, "About the sun going down?"

Dave shook his head. "Fuck knows!" He finally spotted Graham ahead of them, and called out his name.

"Graham!"

Graham turned around and slowed his pace a little, looking relieved when he saw it was Dave and Alex who were summoning him, but then continued to run. "He's just up ahead!" he shouted back, and Alex and Dave groaned. They sprinted forward to catch up with Graham, and indeed saw Damon careering up the high street a few feet ahead.

"Damon!" Graham yelled breathlessly, "Damon, wait! You're gonna get lost!"

Dave heard Damon call back a reply. “No, no! I remember!”

“What’s the fucking rush?!” Alex demanded loudly, startling a woman they ran past but choosing not to care. “Why have we got to…”

Damon didn’t respond to this, and so the chase continued. The four ran, the sky growing darker around them as the sun set, until they reached the point at which the river began, and then Dave, Graham and Alex slowed and finally came to a stop, leaving Damon to continue to sprint ahead.

“Jesus Christ…” Alex wheezed, hands on his knees. He looked up at Graham. “I hope your mate has a reasonable explanation for all this.”

“He’s not my mate,” Graham groaned back, tired of Alex’s pointed comments, “and anyway, you didn’t have to come with, did you?”

“Well I hope Damon’s got a good reason for all this, too,” Dave chimed in. “This is really...I mean, he was so panicked-”

“-Yeah, I know, it was fucking weird!” Alex interrupted with wide eyes, “We were just sat there, waiting for you two to come back, and he asked me what the time was, next thing I know, he’s screaming and chucking himself at your door!”

“Oh, Jesus, where’s he gone?” Graham whined, casting his eyes up the river. “Why did he have to come all the way out-”

The conversation was broken off by the sound of a loud splash, and the three looked at each other, rolling their eyes tiredly before jogging the rest of the way to where Damon had last been.

They came to a stop when they found a pile of clothing, namely Damon’s jeans and trainers, by the side of the water, and Dave’s shoulders slumped as they peered over, waiting for Damon to resurface. “Oh, come on, man, not all this again. No more night swimming. Come back and put your clothes back on.”

It took Damon a moment, and Graham felt his stomach swoop with a sudden feeling of fear, but then he finally popped his head out of the water, looking anxious and barely making eye contact.

Alex folded his arms. “Care to explain what you’re doing in there? Again?”

Damon gave a small, quick nod, not really directed at Alex and such a tiny gesture that Graham nearly missed it. “Okay, so...I don’t want you to...panic...” he started uneasily, and Graham frowned, but Alex interrupted.

“Oh, you don’t? Could’ve fooled me!”

Dave groaned. “Alex, shut up.”

Damon took a deep breath. “Alright, look, I wasn’t expecting to have to do this, but I’m gonna-I’m gonna come up a bit more, right, and...something’s gonna happen, but don’t-don’t be scared.”

“Don’t be scared?” Graham repeated, shooting Damon a quizzical look.

Damon locked eyes with him briefly then nodded again, and slowly started to reveal more of his body. His sodden t-shirt was no surprising sight, and Graham and the others looked at each other, silently waiting for an explanation for Damon’s odd behaviour.

But then Damon seemed to sit back a little in the water, and then, with a small flourish, an orange-scaled tail appeared in front of him, sliding up out of the water fin first and glistening in the pale light. It took the group a minute to cotton on - but then all hell broke loose.

"What the-what the fuck-" Graham spluttered, blinking rapidly. “Is that-is that-”

"That's a TAIL!" Dave cried, and Damon quickly lowered himself back into the water so only his head was visible, hissing at everyone to be quiet.

“Sh! Shut up!”

Alex was dumbfounded. “Is that yours? Like, part of you?”

Damon nodded, lips twitching in what Graham could only assume to be nervous laughter. “I said don’t panic.”

Dave gestured flippantly at Damon and stared at Graham and Alex, clearly astonished. "How did we miss that the first time round?" Graham barked a laugh, still trying to wrap his head around the concept he was being presented with, Alex joining in. Damon shot them a queasy smile.

“So...let me just-” Alex started, rounding on Damon with more friendliness than he’d exhibited all day, “you’re a mermaid?”

“A merman,” Damon corrected, and Alex let out a loud ‘pssshhh’ and waved him off.

“Tell you what, guys, we must be fucked right now,” he said, turning back to the others, “someone’s drugged us. This guy isn’t real.”

“I am!” Damon cried indignantly, “Look! Touch it if you want!” He presented Alex with his tail again, but Alex shook his head.

“No, thanks.”

“Fuck…” Dave sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking skywards again. “I’m not...I’m going home, man. We can come back to... _fuck_...”

Graham nodded, feeling like the shock was never going to leave his face. He looked at Damon and let out a deep breath. “Yeah, I-Jesus.”

“You bet your arses we’re coming back,” Alex enthused, apparently excited, “this is too unreal.”

“God, alright…” Damon muttered, looking slightly insulted, and Graham laughed again. “You’re not scared, are you?”

“No, not scared, just-” Graham started, then ran out of words. The only thing he could think to say was, “Mermaids aren’t real.”

“I’m a merman.”

“Oh, God, same difference, innit?” Graham cried, and there was a pause before Damon collapsed into hysterical, almost musical, laughter. Graham looked anxiously at Alex and Dave, wondering what was so funny, and realised that all three of them were in the same state of shock and awe. Damon finally finished laughing and started to wave them off.

“Oh, look, just...off with you,” he said, looking fond, “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? Just...go to bed. I know you need to.”

The three cut strange looks at each other, before agreeing silently and making their way back home.

***

"So, your tail just pops out at midnight, then?"

It was the following afternoon. Alex, Graham and Dave had arranged to meet Damon by the start of the river, and had gone on to sit outside a local café, to finally discuss matters, now that Damon's odd behaviour was, for the most part, explained. Damon had sat down and described, with some reluctance, his situation: firstly, yes, he was a merman; and he'd arrived in Colchester after running away from home, which he'd had to do, he felt, to avoid his father, who was trying to marry him off when he categorically did not want to get married. He'd wanted to travel, visit different people and places, maybe even go on land for a bit. That was what had sent his father mad, and so Damon had snuck away at the first possible moment, deliberately getting more and more lost and further and further away from anything interesting so he'd be harder to find. And now Alex was bombarding him with questions.

"When the sun sets," Damon corrected him, sitting back in his chair, legs splayed out wide. "Or if my legs get wet in the meantime."

"Does it feel weird when it changes?"

Damon shrugged. "Tickles a bit, I suppose. Tingly."

"How come you can speak English?"

Dave cut in. "Alex. Leave him alone."

Alex widened his eyes. "What? I'm just taking an interest!"

"Yes, you've certainly changed your tune," Damon commented wryly, and there was a moment when Graham thought he was seriously bitter. But then Damon started to smile mischieviously, looking at Alex, and the pair started to laugh. Alex leaned over and gave him a shove.

"Well, I know you’re not just some hanger-on now," Alex argued. Through peals of laughter, Damon shook his head and started to move his chair round so it was next to Graham's.

"No!" he crowed, grinning, "you can't just change your mind like that! I’ve decided, it’s not fair!"

"I think I was perfectly within my right to suspect-"

"Nooope! No, I don't wanna talk to you anymore. I'm sitting with Graham," Damon announced, and settled his head on Graham's shoulder. "He likes me. You like me, don't you, Graham?" he continued, looking up at Graham with twinkling eyes. And Graham would swear on his life that Damon was fluttering his eyelashes at him. His stomach swooped, though he wasn't sure why.

"Er. I s'pose," he replied, and Damon burst out laughing again, before letting out a theatrical groan.

"Oh, you're all rubbish!" he said, straightening up. "You all hate me!"

Graham smiled. "Alright, fine, fine, we love you, Damon! You're the best!" he teased, cackling. Damon crossed his arms and pouted, but was only able to keep up the pretence for a few seconds before relaxing again.

"So...how are you finding it up here?" Dave asked him.

"Mad," Damon said decisively, then amended, "well, I mean, it's kind of what I'd expected. Cos you hear things, you know, everyone talks about what it's like on land. But it's still pretty weird."

"You worried your dad'll find you?" Graham chimed in, scrunching up his nose. Damon tilted his head to one side.

"A bit. Not really. I think I've got a bit of time, yet."

"Will he be mad?"

Damon giggled. "Yeah, probably." His face grew serious. "But I had to get away, you know? I was coming up here whether he liked it or not."

"Well, you've certainly chosen a really exciting spot to visit," Dave joked, and Damon smiled.

"Yeah," Graham added, "sorry it's so crap round here."

Damon remained unfazed and relaxed. "Oh, I dunno. It's not so bad." He beamed at Graham as if to punctuate his point. Graham felt a little wobbly under his gaze and swiftly looked away.

Alex leaned in and rested his elbows on the table. He fixed Damon with a cold stare. "Can fish talk?"

Damon gave Alex a weird look and scoffed. "No. What the fuck?"

"I thought mermaids could talk to fish!"

Damon could only raise an eyebrow and chuckle. "Well, I dunno where you got that from. Fact is they're not difficult animals to understand, are they?" Alex started to pat his pockets, muttering something at Damon's response, then stood up.

"I'm out of fags," he announced, "anyone want to come get some with me?"

"Alex, you're not that dependent," Graham sighed, bored of Alex's chatter.

"I'll come!" Damon chirped. Alex looked surprised.

"You will?"

"Yeah, if you let me try one," he said, smiling prettily and doing a similar fluttering-eyelashes trick that he had to Graham earlier.  

Alex looked unsure. "You wanna try smoking?"

"Yeah, s'what people do, isn't it? Come on!" Damon said, springing up out of his seat. Alex looked at Graham and Dave with uncertainty, but the pair merely shrugged. Damon could do what he wanted. Alex started to walk up the high street, Damon following eagerly, and then Graham realised he had a burning question.

"Dave."

Dave jumped at Graham's hiss, clearly still trying to fathom how the sprightly young man bounding away from them at Alex's side was actually living proof that mythical creatures existed. "Yeah?"

Graham fidgeted, feeling a little embarrassed. "Do you-do you think Damon's flirting with me, or...?"

Dave gave the question some thought but smiled fondly. "I don't know. Do you think he is?"

"Well, I'm not sure, cos...I mean, he might just be doing it to everyone," Graham said, feeling uncomfortable, "but..."

Dave suddenly grew concerned. "Is he bothering you?"

"No, no!" Graham assured him, "not really. It's just...weird."

Dave scoffed. "Come on. It's not like people haven't flirted with you before."

"It's always been weird though."

"Graham..." Dave rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"It has!" Graham argued. "It's either been girls getting all weird and giggly and trying to steal my glasses, or it's just been me trying to talk to girls who aren't interested and making a tit out of myself."

Dave looked amused. "Okay."

Graham didn't appreciate Dave's smirking. "What?"

"Look, let's face it, none of us know what Damon's up to. We still don't know even now he's told us what's going on." Dave leaned in. "But I think, just, you know...see what happens."

"You're not being very helpful."

Dave groaned. "Well, what do you want me to say? I barely know him either." Then he settled back in his seat and let a smug smile settle on his face. "Though, to tell you the truth, Graham, I don't think I've been paying half as much attention to his behaviour as you have, so if anyone was to know..."

"I-you what?" Graham stuttered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Dave just looked ahead. "Oh, look, they're back.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait! again, I had lots more planned for this chapter, but it's all a big mess of notes and documents I've got lying around so...sorry. again. lmao. more damon pov to come! also sorry the spacing is all messed up?

Damon felt like he should've been making a list. Since first setting foot on land - an experience that warranted a list all of its own - 1) Everything is very solid, 2) Feet are even weirder looking in person, 3) Legs are hairier than you’d expect - he had made quite a few discoveries already. Maybe most notably about himself but discoveries nonetheless. A definite addition to this list would have been: smoking is really quite bizarre. Damon hadn't particularly enjoyed it.

  
"Ah! What the fuck are you doing?" Alex had reprimanded when he'd thrown his cigarette as far away from him as possible, coughing up a lung. "I could have had that!"

  
"Why would you want it in the first place? It's like the opposite of breathing!"

  
"Er, because, I paid for it?"

  
Yes, Alex was an odd specimen. Damon had yet to quite gauge the three boys he'd met, but he'd decided that Alex was a little strange. He was also the type, and Damon had sensed this immediately, that dragged up that side of Damon that wanted to purposely be irritating. But he was alright, Damon supposed, and if nothing else, of a slight build and fairly attractive face that it would be reasonable to envy.

  
Then there was Dave. Damon liked Dave. He was reasonable, surprisingly witty, and probably the easiest to be around, and it always impressed Damon when someone came across to him as so calm and dependable. Granted, this was probably because he himself tended to feel so volatile in comparison. Damon knew he could be difficult and irritating, prone to tempers and generally a bit manic, but Dave didn't look like he'd ever get too fazed by it. So Damon liked him.

  
Graham was maybe the one Damon was having the trickiest time with. It was strange, because for all his good deeds, Graham was the hardest to read; one minute he'd be sociable, the next shy and withdrawn; one minute they'd be getting along like old friends, the next it'd be incredibly tense. And, because of this or otherwise, Damon felt like he wasn't sure what he wanted with Graham. Did he want to please him, or assert his dominance instead? It was a mystery. Damon supposed this was normal between strangers, but the niggle wouldn't go away. Maybe he just wanted Graham to like him. Still, the boy was quite sweet, so Damon wasn’t going to start holding grudges just yet.

  
Returning to the table outside the café with Alex, he locked eyes with Graham, seeing him straighten up and trying to cover up a look of worry. His brown eyes were big, wide with anxiety, and Damon immediately felt his confusion surge up again. So he sauntered to his seat and threw himself down in the most confident way he could manage.

  
"You alright?" he asked Graham, frowning a little. Graham nodded, looking a little hasty, Damon thought. His hair was sticking out on one side in a little tuft, and Damon felt a certain fondness rising up in him at the sight. Funny.

  
"Yeah, yeah," Graham replied, and Damon pursed his lips and looked away.

  
"You don't have to sit like that, you know?" Alex cut in, tossing himself down irritably and looking at Damon pointedly. Damon tutted.

  
"Like what?"

  
"With your legs that far apart," Alex replied, looking at him with disdain, "just cos it might have been what you've heard that's what we do-"

  
Damon resented Alex's shift in mood. "I haven't heard anything, you prick. It's just comfortable. Dunno why you're having a go all of a sudden."

  
Dave laughed. "Have you two fallen out again? In the, what, two minutes you were together?"

  
"He wasted a perfectly good fag."

  
"Well, I don't know how it all works, do I?" Damon exploded. "You could have told me beforehand!"

  
"Now, now, children," Dave interrupted jokily. Alex scowled and Damon allowed himself a smirk. He hadn't meant to irritate Alex, but now he had, it was only going to amuse him.

  
At that moment, a drop of water fell on his head. He tilted his head back to look for the source.

  
“What was that?”

  
Graham looked up with him and rubbed his head. “Is it gonna rain?”

  
Damon shot out of his chair, feeling the drops falling faster. “Oh, no!” He darted quickly into the cafe they were sat outside and peered out the window, only noticing once he was inside the building that he’d knocked his chair over in his panic, and looked at the others sheepishly as the rain started to fall faster.

  
Alex was the first to follow him in, shaking the small amount of rain water out of his hair in Damon’s direction. Damon stood back but managed to kick Alex in the ankle for his troubles. Graham and Dave followed soon after, and the four of them stood gawping out of the window, Graham grumbling at the change in weather.

  
“Yeah, you’re gonna have to get used to this,” Dave told Damon. “In England the weather’s a bit changeable.”

  
Damon felt his curiosity rise back up. “Do you get all those mad storms and stuff? Earthquakes or anything?”

  
Dave chuckled. “Unfortunately not. Not in England, anyway.”

  
Damon shrugged. Oh well. He had plenty of time to travel and find places with more interesting weather. Well, he did until his dad inevitably got in touch and told him to come back home, then his time on land might get limited. Shaking himself and trying not to focus on that particular avenue of thought, he looked to Graham.  
“What are we gonna do after this rain stops, do you reckon?”

  
Graham seemed to have been surprised out of his own thoughts as he turned to look back at him. That same tuft of hair was still sticking out. Damon wanted to smooth it down. “Dunno.”

  
Damon opened his mouth to complain, but Graham got in first. “Suppose you could always just...come back to mine, if there’s nothing else to do.” He looked at Alex and Dave in turn. “You two, too, if you want.”

  
“Ah, I dunno,” Alex said, shrugging, looking at the clouds, “I’ll see how I feel.”

  
“Dave?”

  
“Hmm,” Dave replied, giving Graham a funny look, as if he was sharing a joke, “yeah, we’ll see. Although I think I said I’d help my mum shift some stuff out of the garage this afternoon.”

  
Damon was bored of their deliberating, and slightly annoyed that he wasn’t in on whatever the joke was between Dave and Graham. He nudged Graham.  
“Here, you’ve got a bit-your hair’s stuck out on one side, mate,” he said, and Graham’s hands shot up to his head.

  
“Yeah? Where?” Damon could see he was only going to make the situation worse, and so batted his hands away from his head.

  
“Here, look, I’ll do it,” he insisted, and tried not to laugh at Graham’s wary expression as he swiftly flattened down the offending chunk. Graham was still looking anxious after he was done, so he smiled at him, amusement tickling at his mouth. “What? It’s fine now, promise.”

  
Graham nodded slowly. “Cheers.”

  
The rain subsided after a little while, and the four started the walk down the high street, Dave and Alex deciding that they weren’t going to come back to Graham’s. Damon got a sense that maybe Graham had wanted them to, and tried not to feel too disheartened or indeed speak up about it, wanting to maintain a casual sort of relationship with all three of them and not wanting to scare Graham anymore. But he still couldn’t understand why Graham would be scared of him at all. He was just being nice.

  
Not that he should be at all bothered about what people thought of him. He wasn’t bothered.

  
The walk back, once Alex and Dave had gone their separate ways, was a quiet one, and Damon found himself grasping at straws trying to start a conversation. He was sure he had many questions about life on land that he still hadn’t asked, but not one would come to mind, so he ended up pestering Graham about inane things, like how long they had left until they got to Graham’s house, and how he hoped it wouldn’t start raining again, and it was terrible, really. Usually he was never out of things to say. Growing frustrated and swinging his arms, he decided not to beat around the bush and instead ask Graham outright what he was thinking.

  
“Look, are you sure you’re okay with me coming over? I don’t wanna bother you and you seem kind of-”

  
However, at the exact moment Graham looked up and made eye contact, Damon’s eyes fell on something that distracted him completely.

  
Second addition to the imaginary list: human babies are _adorable_.

  
“Oh my God,” Damon gasped, voice dropping into a hoarse murmur as a woman with a small child strapped to her chest approached from a few feet away, and he stopped dead in the middle of the pavement, grabbing Graham’s arm urgently.

  
Graham was confused. “What?”

  
“Oh my God, Graham, that’s so weird.” Human babies were a little strange. Damon wasn’t afraid to say so. Whatever.

  
“What is? Why have you stopped moving?” Graham hissed back, and forced him to carry on walking. He followed Damon’s line of sight, and his eyes widened as the penny dropped. “Are you talking about that woman’s baby? You can’t say that!”

  
Damon felt a smile growing on his face as he continued to gawp at the infant in question. “Oh, look at its little feet! What the f-?” He cut himself off before he cursed out loud, noticing that the mother was now close enough to hear him - evident, as she sent a smile his way. This was it, this was his opportunity. He beamed back at the woman and walked over to her, ignoring Graham’s protests.

  
“Sorry, miss, I was just saying...your baby is so cute!” He made sure to turn the charm up as he wandered around to have a look at the baby’s face, and could hardly contain his excitement and awe. “Hello, gorgeous!” he cooed, and the baby giggled in response. The mother laughed too, and Damon looked back up at her.

  
“Is it a girl? What’s her name?” he asked her, eyes briefly flicking over to Graham who was standing next to him now, looking slightly bewildered.

  
“This is Georgia,” the woman replied, and took hold of the baby’s hand to pretend to wave it up and down. “Say hello Georgia!”

  
Damon was sure his pulse was racing with pure affection for this small human in front of him. He couldn’t get his head round it; but it was definitely very cute, and it was pretty fascinating to see a small merperson body attached to tiny chubby legs instead of a tail. He grinned as Georgia continued to smile at him, and he reached in to tickle the toes of one of her feet.

  
“Aw, how old is she?”

  
At this, Graham spoke up. “Come on, Damon, leave this lady and her baby alone,” he mumbled, starting to shoot apologetic at the mother, and Damon pouted.

  
“No, no; it’s fine,” the woman laughed, although she did look like she was starting to make her way down the road again. Damon straightened up and backed off a little.

  
“No, sorry, I’ll let you get on,” he reassured her, and said his farewells to both her and the baby. Turning back around to continue the walk with Graham, he noticed Graham’s exasperated expression, and faltered a little.

  
“Oh. Sorry,” he said again, “was that really embarrassing?” He grimaced, but his grimace turned to a frown as a flicker of a smile started to toy at Graham’s lips. Although there was no denying it; something about Graham’s generally confused and confus _ing_  demeanour was eliciting a strange feeling of fondness somewhere in his chest again. Damon wished he had even the slightest idea what was going on with human beings, he really did.

  
“You honestly are...Jesus Christ, Damon,” was all he said in explanation, and the two continued the walk to Graham’s, in what Damon could only hope was more companionable silence.


End file.
